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Elements
The elements are the driving concept behind the Elemental Shattering mythology. Prime Elements There are three prime elements. In a two-dimensional plane, these are the vertices of an elemental equilateral triangle describing all the available elements. *Air *Fire *Water Opposed Elements These elements are primarily a mixture of two prime elements, but in the geometric representation are also exactly opposite a Prime element at the midpoint of a side of the triangle. While not as powerful or pure as the Prime elements, they are a direct counter to the Prime. Listed by the element they oppose, in the same order as the Prime elements above, *Earth *Ice *Smoke Mixed Elements A whole continuum of elements exist between any two Prime elements, with an Opposed element at the center of them. Additionally, mixed elements can be created with parts of all three Prime Any element imaginable can be found somewhere within the triangle. While the Magi seldom use numbers to describe elemental mixtures and the Brutes are forced to work with what they can find, the Techs make use of barycentric coordinates to quantfy a particular element. Simply put, choose a point within the Prime domain triangle (a specific element). Drawing straight lines to the Prime vertices creates three smaller triangles. Adding the areas of these triangles will give the total area of the triangle; thus, adding the percentage of the whole triangle made up by each smaller triangle will add up to 100%. Each triangle is directly opposite one of the Primes, so we can name each triangle by the Prime it is opposite of. The mixture of elements is then given by describing the percent present in each Prime's triangle area. For example, a mixture of 30% Air, 20% Fire, 50% Water, or 30A20F50W, or simply (30,20,50) would be an element primarly water-based, with air slightly outweighting fire. In the extreme cases, (100,0,0), (0,100,0), and (0,0,100) give pure Air, Fire, and Water respectively. While only two of the three coordinates are really necessary to pinpoint an element, and often in casual talk a tech will use lingo like "30-20" to describe (30,20,50), officially all three numbers are given for completeness. One of the first indications of a problem with a student's work is when the three numbers do not add up to 100%. Prime Crystals On Earth , Sirius , and Centauri , the source of the Elements that make life possible on the planet are three Prime Crystals, one each for the Prime Elements. The Prime Crystals generate the elements that comprise nature on each world. While Magi, Techs, and Brutes can make use of generated, or natural, elements, far more power is available from tapping into the source elements within the Crystals directly. While the Crystals do generate elements continuously, if their more power is drawn from the Crystals than is produced, they can be drained entirely, wreaking havoc and ultimate destruction of life on a world. Using Elements The powers granted a user by harnessing the elements is what distinguishes the ES universe from normal, magic-less midieval lore. The three seperate races use the elements in three very different ways, and it provides some insight to their view of the universe. Techs (Buzz, pls fix this!) The techs fundamentally view the elements as a tool to be used. They seek to "bottle up" elements, either premixed or in separate containers each holding some Prime element, and then use them to modify the world around them. As with all other tools, these are applied as often to war as to peace. Magi The Magi have an inward, spiritual means to recognize the elements in their environment and influence them to obey their will. The more aligned with the elements' natural course an action is, the more likely the magus can perform the action. On the other hand, the more powerful the understanding and talent a magus has with an element, the more likely the element can be constrained to act unnaturally. If a magus's will becomes sufficiently aligned with a particular element, they begin to take on the attributes of that element, and, in extreme cases, are taken over entirely by the element's will and become an elemental . Brutes tbc